Reason for domestic violence possible after the rampage in California

LOS ANGELES – Investigators are investigating Friday a possible ground of spousal abuse after an armed man shot and killed his ex-wife before committing suicide for nearly 40 minutes in southern California, authorities said.

Javier Casarez was shot dead while a member of Parliament was pursuing him after the killings in Bakersfield, about 145 kilometers north of Los Angeles, said Thursday the Kern County Sheriff, Donny Youngblood.

Casarez, 54, shot dead his ex-wife and a man in a trucking company before running after another man, killing him and driving him to a house where he shot dead a father and his daughter on Wednesday.

The court records show a divorce between Casarez and Petra Maribel Bolanos of Casarez was finalized earlier this year.

In his divorce petition filed in December, Cesarez accused Bolanos of cheating and asked the judge for text messages specific to his wife. The judge denied the request.

Bolanos recently demanded a change involving child support and custody of the couple's two teens, and the two men had a hearing scheduled for October 11, according to court records.

Youngblood said that it seems that Casarez has targeted every victim, starting with a worker at T & T Trucking, and that domestic violence seems to have played a big role.

"There seems to be more than one husband and one woman arguing because other people have been targeted," he said. "There is a reason for that and we have to find that reason."

Investigators question whether Casarez's ex-wife would have had dealings with Contreras or Valadez, the sheriff said.

Casarez probably took his ex-wife to the trucking company against his will and then killed Manuel Contreras, 50, with a .50 caliber handgun, officials said. He shot his ex-wife and then returned the gun to a second man, Antonio Valadez, 50, the sheriff's department said.

Casarez shot Valadez while he was running away, but then found him in his car and killed him, the sheriff said.

Casarez then went to the home of Eliseo Garcia Cazares, 57, whom Youngblood identified as a friend. Casarez killed Garcia and his daughter, Laura Garcia, 31 years old.

"She may have tried to intervene to prevent the suspect from approaching his father, and he shot them both," Youngblood said.

After the shooting in Garcia's house, Casarez stole a woman who was driving with her child. The woman and child escaped and Casarez headed for a highway where a sheriff's deputy saw him, Youngblood said.

According to the MP, who shouted to Casarez to drop his weapon, Casarez shot himself in the stomach, according to images of body graphics published by police on Facebook.

The video shows deputies and paramedics working to save Casarez. MPs watch Casarez's weapon and talk about how he should have reloaded it during the rampage.

David Bunting, who said he was a friend of Eliseo Garcia Cazares and lives close to his home, said that he had no idea why his neighbor would have been caught for target.

He said that Garcia was an independent truck driver who was always with his grandchildren when he was not working, often driving them on his golf cart.

"It's a really nice guy, I can not say enough good things about it," Bunting said. "It's a little shocking because of the kind of person it was."

He said that his daughter Laura was the mother of four children and that most of the Garcias family was at home at the time of the shooting. He said that they were devastated and in shock.

He said that Eliseo Garcia Cazares and his wife had four grown children, including a girl who had been killed in a car accident a few years ago.

T & T Trucking, where the shooting took place, said in a statement that the company "is in mourning".

"We are deeply saddened and offer our sincere condolences and prayers to those who have lost loved ones."

About 30 witnesses were questioned by MPs, Youngblood said.

He stated that Casarez was a legal permanent resident of the United States. The 50-caliber firearm used in the shooting was legally purchased in 2004, Youngblood said. Casarez had been arrested for vehicle theft in the 1980s, but he had no history of violent crime, the sheriff said.

Youngblood called the devastating shootout, especially for the children of Laura Garcia, who may have witnessed the death of their mother.

"These young children, when they see him, will stay with them all their lives," he said. "But the officers … they are not immune to these emotions – these cases stay with them all their career, so this has a tremendous impact on many people in our community and in our department."

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The author of the Associated Press, Christopher Weber, contributed to this report.